2. amps-preamps
  3. 1137025391

Slow upgrade from integrated - pre or power first?

I have a Musical Fidelity A3.2 integrated amp. I would like to upgrade to a pre-amp (probably Modwright SWL 9.0SE) and power amp (likely Musical Fidelity A308CR). Financial constraints dictate one upgrade at a time. I can use the integrated as either a pre-amp or power amp. Which should I buy first, the pre-amp or the power amp, and why? The rest of the system is a Musical Fidelity A3.2 CD player and Gallo Reference 3 speakers. Thanks for any help.

Tim
smorkinlabbit

Showing 2 responses by rar1

rar1's avatar
rar1
1,811 posts
 
Tim:

If the AUX 2 works in that way ... great ... wish I had had that option! That must have been a 2004 addition. If that is the case, then I would say go with the preamp first.

Regards, Rich
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,811 posts
 
Tim:

You realize of course that your MF A3.2 only has a PREAMP OUT and not a PREAMP IN, so you will not be able to use your MF A3.2 as a power amp with a new preamp.

I learned this the hard way when I purchased a MF CD PRE24 (preamp/cd player combo) to use with my MF A3 integrated amp and wound up only being able to use the cd player portion of the MF CD PRE 24. This led to a purchase of a MF A300 power amp and a sale of a MF A3.2 integrated, when all I originally wanted was a matching A3 cd player, which by then had been discontinued. I had received a great price on the CD PRE 24 (it is in use today with a Prima Luna Prologue Five power amp) and I liked all its preamp capabilities, but I could not use it with the MF A3 integrated.

Why did MF do it this way with A3/A3.2? Because they saw owners using the A3/3.2 with other power amps (like mono blocks)or a HT receiver, not another preamp.

So, about all you can do is change the power amp at this point ... or get another integrated (think Prima Luna Prologue One or Two for tubes).

Regards, Rich
More to discover